Bloomberg News Arts And Culture Coverage May Be Eliminated; Editorial Staff Cuts Announced

An exterior view of the Bloomberg building is seen in New York, November 7, 2013. Photo: Reuters

Bloomberg News is shedding reporters on its culture team and laid off a veteran tech columnist in a significant round of layoffs. The staff cuts were anticipated last week in reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, which said they could affect up to 100 employees, reportedly the largest editorial staff reduction in Bloomberg history.

A handful of fired Bloomberg reporters have announced their departure on Twitter, and it appears that Bloomberg may be eliminating its arts and culture coverage altogether. Book editor Laurie Muchnick and theater critic Jeremy Gerard said Bloomberg was dropping arts and culture, respectively, in tweeted announcements of their departure.

Not sure how to put this so here goes: Bloomberg is cutting arts coverage, including books, so today was my last day there.

Bloomberg’s investigative unit also took a hit, which had been expected. According to Talking Biz News, investigative and projects reporter Elliot Blair Smith and Charles Babcock, an editor on the investigations team, were let go. Last week, China reporter Mike Forsyth was suspended, after news leaked that Bloomberg killed Forsyth’s investigative piece tracing the wealth of Chinese officials, allegedly citing concerns that the story would further strain Bloomberg’s relations with the Chinese government. (The Bloomberg website is already blocked in China.) According to the Financial Times, Forsyth has been suspected of leaking details of the investigation and internal decisions about it to the press.

On Wednesday, the day after Forsyth was suspended, projects and investigations editor Amanda Bennett announced her departure. Bennett has not yet cited a reason for the departure, and praised Bloomberg’s projects and investigations team in a message to Talking Biz News.

Bennet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Contact me if you are affected by the staff cuts or have updated information to share: e.killoran@ibtimes.com